Title: Mieruko-chan Vol. 10
Author: Tomoki Izumi
Publisher: Yen Press
Language: English
Format: Paperback
Pages: 178
Genre: Sci-Fi, Supernatural, Horror
Publication Date: February 18, 2025
The Story
The tenth volume of Mieruko-chan sees Miko, Hana, Yuria, and Michiru at Miko’s house when suddenly, the power goes out. Miko’s brother thinks he saw a ghost but it was just Michiru’s sister coming to pick her up after she got soaked from the pouring rain. Afterward, we see Michiru holding a photo of Miko and Hana with her thumb pressed harshly over Hana, warping the picture… a look of destruction and pain in her eyes.
From here, we are treated to a deep backstory of Michiru, learning all about her past. When we rejoin the present, Michiru lures Hana away into the school’s equipment storage shed where she tells Hana to stay away from Miko and how she wants to be the one to be there for her. Hana takes it the wrong way and lunges into Michiru’s arms, thanking her for wanting to be there for Miko. Suddenly, something inside of Michiru breaks in a good way.
Meanwhile, Miko gets in contact with Rom to see if he can figure anything out about Michiru’s demon that is covering her entire body. Rom makes a shocking discovery and meets up with Miko to discuss it. When he shows her the photograph, Miko notices the old man from the hospital a few volumes ago, to which Rom replies to her, asking her if that’s how she sees it. He then warns her not to pay it any attention and that particular spirit is dangerous.
Rom is so concerned; he seems to call someone to assist him.
The Characters
The major focus in this volume is Michiru. The poor girl looks creepy but just as we all thought, she’s simply misunderstood. When she was a girl, she lost both her parents so her sister took care of her. Whenever Michiru tries to make a friend, she overdid it and became more of an outcast. For example, someone said they were lonely and scared at night so she climbed into bed with them without permission. When someone lost their hat, she found it in a sewer and got it and herself all dirty to where she was called gross. Michiru always meant well, but it always backfired on her.
This caused her sister to become overprotective. She was always told she needed to set boundaries for Michiru, but she can see how hard Michiru is trying. That is when she makes the decision to protect her from the world by being the only person in her life (That and her pet caterpillar).
Final Thoughts
Overall, this volume was mostly about Michiru. It was good to see her backstory and it was one of those that made you feel for her. After everything she went through, you just wanted to give her a hug. It also gave us some insight as to the type of demon/spirit that’s possessing her. Rom’s discovery, on the other hand, could be the beginning of a new arc or it could be a way to cleanse Michiru altogether. I’m not sure what direction they are going to go in, but it’s nice to see some progress in figuring out what’s going on with whatever is attached to her.
The other development is the old man spirit. Miko sees him as that old man, but Rom sees him or it as something different entirely. The fact that he warned her about it being a dangerous spirit raises a few questions. Rom even stated that he cannot look at that spirit again, otherwise he could die. After what happened in the photo development lab, I am inclined to believe him. Looks like he called in some big guns to help him figure out what to do.
We’ll see how things end up in the next volume, but I will say this Michiru arc just got way more interesting!
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